The Verkhovna Radaʼs Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy unanimously approved amendments to draft law No. 8371 on banning religious organizations associated with Russia. It was recommended to adopt it in the second reading and as a whole.
This was reported by the deputy head of the committee Yevgenia Kravchuk.
"At the heart of the project remained the idea — the state does not prohibit any religious organizations, we have freedom of religion. But the important "but" is no ties with the aggressor country and the Russian Orthodox Church," explained Kravchuk.
The draft law actually prohibits the activity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada will consider the draft law next week as the first item on the agenda, Kravchuk said.
The committee also approved the new title of the draft law — "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations."
In addition, legislators made changes to the terms of entry into force of certain norms. Now:
- the law as a whole enters into force 30 days after publication;
- the item that enables the Cabinet of Ministers to prepare the relevant regulatory framework for the implementation of the law — the next day after publication;
- the clause that will allow to appeal to the court regarding the termination of the activity of a religious organization that has connections with the Russian Orthodox Church and Russia — 9 months after publication.
The committee also made editorial changes to comply with the codes of Ukraine and administrative law. And now, religious organizations that have no ties to Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church will be able to rent state and communal property premises free of charge for holding services, ceremonies, etc. in accordance with the procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The day before, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, called on the Verkhovna Rada to act quickly in the decision on "religious independence". And the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphany called on the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Onufriy to dialogue about unity.
- On January 19, 2023, the government submitted to the Council a draft law banning churches affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. This was done on the instructions of the National Security and Defense Council. On October 19, 2023 , the parliament supported this draft law in the first reading.
- On July 23, 2024, the rostrum was blocked in the Verkhovna Rada — a number of Peopleʼs Deputies demanded that the draft law banning the activities of the UOC-MP in Ukraine be considered in the second reading. The vote never took place, the parliament "broke up" until August.